Exactly. I'm really feeling the pressure right now to decide what I'm going to do about it, and how. As I only have 3 years left to get all of my study completed, which I may have been able to do if the uni was closer....it's so incredibly stressful!

to anyone having a hard time. A friend of mine has just had to change her life drastically because her son turned 8. Her partner died earlier this year and because she's my age, she's not even eligible for the widow allowance. So I do agree that benefits (payments) need to change as they're just not logical the way they are now. For anyone.

Last edited by BH-KatiesMum; 10-11-2011 at 18:17.
Reason: response to deleted text

The Following User Says Thank You to Pinkzy For This Useful Post:

It isn't about competing but I find it hilarious when someone partnered comes in & says the system works fine & in the almighty tone of " if I was single I'd be $300 better off !!! " ... Umm really ??? SO you could pay rent & an afford a mortgage on your own along with all your other utilities, afford food along with all the others costs of having children & still be $300 above ???

I'm not even paying rent or a mortgage because I am very lucky that my mum is in a position do do that for me however I pay for all other things & I budget as much as I can but being that I have two with specific dietary needs I can't just buy everything homebrand or cut back on medications or appts so that we can afford more.

No one has said there aren't families out there doing it tougher but often there are more options for them because there are TWO adults in that family able to juggle the act.

The fact also is that Ana WILL be losing money going onto this new payment which when already struggling means how the hell does she cut back any more & how the hell does that work when she still has a child to look after.

The system is a joke.

Last edited by BH-KatiesMum; 10-11-2011 at 18:18.
Reason: response to deleted text

How does one spend $100 a fn on electricity? and $150 on medication, sorry for being rude and asking but if someone is sick enough for that much on medicine should'nt they be getting somekind of health care card/disability payment? im hineslty jst asking not trying to be rude.

There are medications that are compounded which means that they are not given a discount via a HCC ... I have two children, both on separately compounded medications which are $100 for a 2mth batch but as my post said it also includes specialists we are seeing. Some will give us a discount like our Paed who puts it all thru Medicare but others such as Psychologists, GI Specialists, Therapists all leave me out of pocket. While I can claim a lot thru Medicare plans etc there are only so many things I can use where I don't pay. If you have a child with any additional needs while you can often get help in some areas it still leaves you very much out of pocket & we are lucky that we can tick a few boxes cause as soon as you have a child who has needs & even obvious needs if they can't tick a box you're screwed.

As for the power usage that is $200 per month ... Not sure where you live that you are paying less than that but lucky you if you do ! I don't even run air-con or proper heating thru winter & am still sent out a nice $600 bill every quarter ( although summer does see it drop to $300 as we spend a lot of time with family thru this season ) ... Infact I am currently fighting my current one because they somehow think I jumped from $600 to $1200 this last Winter. Imagine trying to pay for that knowing one, you didn't use it but also knowing that leaves you with no money or well behind the ball for every coming bill in the next however many years because you will never catch up.

I don't run a car so don't have any extras with that luckily but I also forgot I have to find $550 every Oct for my insurance which is again money I don't have.

Again nowhere did Ana say anything about others not doing it as tough but it is very upsetting as a single parent to have someone come in to tell you when you are struggling or are having a difficult time to basically deal with it because well the system works & others are worse off. Doesn't solve a thing.

I wouldn't dare go into a breastfeeding or bottlefeeding section & tell someone struggling either way to SUCK IT UP. You offer support or the likes if you can't understand but never then do the " Well I could/ couldn't breastfeed so you should just deal with it cause I did ".

I'm not sure if partnered parents are entitled to it either, I don't think so though... But I think that it is silly that it isn't available for all people who are studying, regardless of what payment they're on, or even if they're only receiving FTB. The cost of studying can be astronomically high, when you factor in text books, petrol to study etc, and you'd think the government would want us to be furthering our educations, it's silly not to support people to study.

Yes it sucks. "Oh so your situation is the same. You are at uni while you raise your LO on your own which means there is no possible way for you to work but because your LO is now 8 your living expenses must be lower. Too bad if they aren't because we're about to cut your income by a larg e sum anyway which will force you to either move in with your parents as a 30-something mother or g ive up on uni and take up s ome menial low paying job to se e you throug h instead of completing uni to ain a hig h paying j ob that will s ee you pay hig her taxes "

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